Friday, February 12

MARY, “Mediatrix of All Grace” (Part 2)

TO LIGHT A FIRE!

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One of the most significant features of the Catholic Church that distinguishes it from any other religion or “church”, is its constant and endless stream of “private” supernatural revelations as distinguished from the “public” or official revelations contained in the Old and New Testaments. Particularly significant are the claims for such private occurrences during the past two centuries involving the Blessed Virgin Mary and Her prophetic announcements of apocalyptic Divine Justice “soon” to be faced by mankind.

Starting with La Sallete (1846) and Lourdes (1858), both in France, Fatima in Portugal (1917), Beauraing (1932) and Banneux (1933) both in Belgium, Amsterdam in Holland (1945-59),Garanbandal in Spain (1961-1965), Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovinna (1981 up to now), Akita in Japan (1973), Kibeho in Rwanda (1982-88), Hrushivan in Ukraine (1987) and Lipa in the Philippines (1948 and 1992-94), plus many more albeit less known, Our Lady’s singleminded core message has been centered on Her urgent pleas for constant prayer (particularly Holy Mass and the Rosary) with sincere penance, as the only way towards spiritual conversion (metanoia) into the safety and salvation in Her Son Jesus Christ. She makes these requests together with stark reminders about the ever worsening material, political, economic, moral and spiritual crises confronting the whole world.

Regardless of whether or not we believe in those private apocalyptic revelations, there is nevertheless widespread acceptance of the fact that modern civilization is now threatened with imminent near-total chaos and/or destruction, as a result of any one or a combination of probable events such as a global economic meltdown, warming of our oceans particularly those in the polar regions, extreme weather conditions, our planet Earth’s collision with an asteroid, Richter Scale 7 to 8-magnitude earthquakes, tsunamis, diseases like SARS, swine or bird flu, and even nuclear war erupting from any of the explosive geo-political controversies involving Palestine, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Taipei, Russia, Europe, China, the U.S. and the Middle East.

On February 16, 2006 CNN Television aired a scientific panel discussion during which it was claimed that as many as 142 million lives could be lost through a pandemic Bird Flu outbreak. Earlier it was posted on the website of <> that on September 17, 2005 Islamic fundamentalist President Ahmadinejadof Iran addressed a prayer right there in New York City during a speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations, to Iran’s and all Moslems’ expected liberator and “Messiah”, the so-called 12th Immam, who is expected to come soon. And thus he said a month later on October 26, 2005 as reported by the Al Jazeerah News, that the 12th Immam’s return would be the start of a world-wide conflagration whereby Iran would triumph over her enemies and the annihilation of Israel. This is one of the reasons why practically all major nations except Russia and China, are moving heaven and earth to stop Iran from producing its own nuclear weapons. They fear that with such WMDs, it will enable Iran to make good its threat to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth.”

And just a couple of days ago, the Eastern seaboard of the United States was again blanketed with almost a meter thick of blizzard-driven snow, causing the virtual paralyzation of the whole region including the Federal government in Washington D.C. for four successive days. Widespread speculations soon followed about a coming “Snowpocalypse” or even “Snowmaggeddon”. And practically every recent moviegoer was also reminded about Nostradamus and the related film of his predictions concerning his version of “Apocalypse Now”, widely shown in movie theaters throughout the world.

But from Our Lady’s supernatural point of view, such probably imminent physical catastrophes, though also a part of her own prophetic warnings, are NOT her main concern. In fact she considers that such cataclysmic natural phenomena, social upheavals and economic meltdown involving MAMON and his MONEY, including a geo-politically triggered nuclear war, are but God’s ultimate alternative recourse other than Our Lady’s pleas, in order to drive home the fundamental existential fact -- that without Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, mankind will surely sow and regretfully reap his own terrible destruction.

And so I still vividly recall that evening when my late dear departed brother, Antonio B. Olaguer, S.J. and I were gifted with the rare privilege of having a marathon after-dinner tête-tête with Lipa’s visionary Teresing Castillo sometime in 1993 or thereabouts. It was some 45 years after Our Lady had completed Her first series of apparitions circa 1948 as Mediatrix of All Grace. And this second time around, through Her own voice perceived by Teresing to be emanating from a “globe of light”, She repeated Her global warninge.g.“The days are counted and judgment will come!”, and that “God’s wrath is still held by my (Our Lady’s) pleading hands… (for the world) to repent and be converted ….. (because as our Mother, she) would not like to be witness to His plan of punishment.”

And much later in November of 2006, I was once again providentially privileged in being one of those invited, aside from Teresing Castillo, separately but following each other, to confer privately with the latest visionary from Ireland, Anne, who describes herself as a simple Lay Apostle.

The private supernatural messages coursed through Anne since the year 2003 are contained in eight booklets or Volumes and other books published by Direction for Our Timesand distributed here in the Philippines by former Ambassador Howard Dee’s Assisi Development Foundation. The Volumes have a formal Imprimatur from retired Bishop Federico O. Escaler, S.J.

Seeing Anne and Teresing Castillo from a short distance warmly greeting and embracing each other there at the top floor of the Intercon Hotel in Makati City, later on made me realize that it was a rare yet edifying opportunity to be a witness for a particular truth: the truth that their acceptance and obedience to Our Lady’s messages and urgent pleas for prayer and penance were a sure guarantee of a deeper universal truth – that these two visionaries, as Our Lady’s and Her Son’s true friends and disciples, had been destined to become “victim souls”, to be immolated by long years of suffering including SLANDER and VILIFICATION, but always for the sake of Christ and in Christ.

Coincidentally but certainly providentially too, the first of the eight booklets of the messages given to Anne contain Our Lady’s affirmation of those previously given by Her to Teresing which I have cited earlier. It reads as follows: (with emphases added)

Thursday, July 17, 2003

Blessed Mother:“Do you hear My Son’s voice? He is calling His children with authority. Dear little ones, He does this in an effort to save them. The Voice of my Son bears authority and that is why He says His children will know that it is He, their God, who calls out to them. My little ones must make a choice now. And they must choose God and all that is good. Chosen ones, it is time to pray, and you have been called upon to pray. Join your mother in this mission of mercy to your fallen brothers and sisters. Together we minister to their souls, preparing their souls to melt with love for the Divine Rescuer, who seeks them out at this time. Truly, we call you with an unparalleled urgency. You feel this in your hearts and this is an accurate, divinely placed, knowledge. Little ones, be joyful. God has chosen you to help Him and that is wonderful for you and for every soul that you reach. Through you, I will reach out to many. I am helping Jesus, with every grace available to me at this time. Much of this grace comes from your prayers and sacrifices and little offerings. So do not begrudge me these gifts. Children, I am also using, in a special way, the lives of my holy ones who are consecrated to me. Priests and religious, holy men and women, console my heart in extraordinary fashion right now and I am maximizing the tremendous graces I receive from these righteous souls. Religious in the world are under attack. Be brave, religious souls. Your mother defends you as her own and you will be raised up to your rightful place soon. Instead of being honoured by the world, you are reviled and slandered. This will not endure. I want to say that there are those religious who have disappointed my Son and turned to the evil one. Do not think, oh souls of Satan, that you will escape divine justice. And for you who have damaged innocent souls? All of heaven quakes with the retribution that will be yours. I say this to you with a special gravity. Repent. Admit your sins and become cleansed. Only in this way will you enter into the Kingdom of God. Children, be reflective during these times. We are with you, and preparing the world for a marked change. I bless all of you and seek to lead you to my Son.”

And much earlier on October 29, 1977 our Blessed Mother gave a similar, albeit milder warning through Reverend Father Stefano Gobbi (Message No 138 from Our Lady Speaks to Her Beloved Priests), as follows: (with emphases added)

138

October 29, 1977

Feast of Blessed Michael Rua

Doubts and Perplexity

a.“Do not be surprised, beloved sons, that my Adversary does everything he can to obstruct this work of mine.

b.His favorite weapon is to sow doubts and perplexity about what I am doing in the Church. He tries to base these doubts on reasons which are seemingly solid and justifiable. Thus he instills a critical attitude toward whatever I tell you, even before you have received and understood my words.

c.You happen to hear of certain brothers of yours who are cultured men and often even experts and masters in theology, who reject those things I tell you, because they sift all my words with their minds, which have already been filled with the richness of their culture. And so they find insurmountable difficulties precisely in those phrases which are so clear to the simple and small.

d.My words can be understood and accepted only by one whose mind is humble and well-disposed, who has a simple heart, and whose eyes are clear and pure. When the Mother speaks to her children, they listen to her because they love her. They do whatever she tells them, and thus they grow in knowledge and life.

e.Those who criticize her even before they have listened to her and those who reject what she says before putting it into practice, cannot be her children. These people, even though they increase in learning, cannot grow in wisdom and life.

f.I tell you this so that you will not be troubled if you hear that even the learned and the teachers find difficulty in my words, while everything appears so clear and simple to whomever I call to be little. Look to your heavenly Mother who knows very well where and how to lead you so that the plan of her Immaculate Heart may be fulfilled. Do not allow yourselves to be either discouraged or surprised by the doubts and the perplexities which can even increase, without however being prejudicial in any way to my great work of love.”

Therefore it has to be emphasized that the much more significant and essential messages given by our Blessed Mother to both Anne and Teresing as well as those through Father Gobbi, have to do with God’s LOVE for mankind, now expressed more often during this Marian Age, through our Blessed Mother. She pleads with us to repent and to reconcile with Her Son Jesus Christ preferably through the intercession of Her Immaculate Heart. And it is precisely such seemingly unsophisticated, thus incredible to the sophisticated and even irrelevant, messages that most of the secular world will reject. In fact, Christ Himself predicted such a typical reaction from among “the wise and learned” (Matthew 11:25).For indeed whenever we are so full of our proud thoughts, we reject divinely inspired promptings and messages which to the simple, poor and oppressed, are so limpidly edifying.

And so I believe we should pray for and take real pity on the Papal Nuncio and the President of the University of Sto. Tomas who at that time in 1948, orchestrated the condemnation of Teresing Castillo’s and her other reliable co-witnesses’ testimonies concerning Our Blessed Mother’s private revelations, as the “Work of the Devil!”

And yet there are still too many Catholic bishops and priests nowadays, who think that it is fashionably “progressive” for them to consider all private supernatural revelations as mere superstition or at best irrelevant.

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